Magical Kitchen Herbs
Learning about herbs can seem daunting at first. With thousands of medicinal plants and so many schools of thought, the question that arises is, where do I start? The best place to start is in the Kitchen. Culinary herbs are just as medicinal as exotic or lesser known herbs. Start by mastering a few home basics and branch out from there!
Let’s explore 3 kitchen staples:
-Rosemary
-Parsley
-Bay Leaves
Rosemary:
The smell of Rosemary is one we often tie up with Holiday season, a good roast and family gatherings. This Kitchen Herb is not just for cooking, it is one of the most magnificently magical herbs and one of the herbs of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty, fertility, and love. It is said she is born of the foam of the sea and the Titan Ouranos (Uranus). She was born in a seashell that washed ashore, as the shell opened she was in the shell with pearls and wrapped in Rosemary. In the Mediterranean, Rosemary is a wild herb that grows at the edge of the sea, it doesn’t need much watering and it survives from the splashes of salt water waves. Aphrodite had many children, all of which she cloaked in Rosemary after birth. It is said that all Rosemary brings the protection and love of Aphrodite and the Ocean when used in Magical Ceremonies.
Rosemary is a smudgeable herb much like Sage. It cleanses and clears the auric fields with the power of the Ocean, it brings love into a space with the power of Aphrodite and because Rosemary is anti-bacterial, it will cleanse the actual air as well.
Rosemary is considered a beauty herb and is often found in skincare and haircare products because it is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti microbial, anti-inflammatory and helpful in stimulating the circulatory and lymphatic systems. It is also said that Rosemary can uplift mood, help in memory recall, protect our vision, lower blood sugar and improve digestion.
Feel free to add rosemary to your cooking, steep it into a light tea, burn it in your home or use a rosemary infusion to rinse your hair.
Parsley:
There is so much folklore surrounding parsley. It is said that Parsley was created when the Greek God Archemorus died in a great battle, the found parsley sprouting beneath him. When the greeks would bury their beloved they would surround them in parsley as an offering to Persephone, the queen of the Underworld who loved the herb. It is also said that the spirit of parsley must travel back and forth from the underworld to earth seven times before it can sprout. So you should always plant 7 seeds for every 1 you need. It is also said that parsley grows strongest in homes where the woman makes the rules.
All of this to be said, Parsley is considered a vitalizing herb and is incredibly good for our health. This relationship it has with death is because it protects us from it. Keep parsley in your garden to protect your other plants.
Parsley is high in vitamins A,C,K, folate and potassium. It is also high in flavonoids and carotenoids. Whenever you are feeling a cold or illness coming on or you just have low energy, 1/2 a cup of fresh parsley in your salads will bring you back to life. A light infusion or tea of parsley has anti-bacterial qualities and does wonders for clearing the urinary tract and aiding menstruation. It is also said that parsley may improve heart health, bone density and improve eye sight.
Bay Leaves
Bay leaves may taste great as an addition to broths, rice pots and stews but they have been the base of many magical spells and rituals for a long time.
One of the most popular magical uses of Bay Leaves is for abundance manifestation. It is believed that if you write the number of the salary you desire on a dried bay leaf then burn it, the number will become a reality. But as with all manifestation, it is a combination of magic and work. Bay Leaves are also incredibly protective. Keeping a vile of salt and bay leaves on your person, car or in your home will protect you from harm, accidents or bad energy. Think of it as a plant version of an evil eye. Bay leaves are also said to move stagnation, so keep them in the home, on your altar or cook with them if you feel a little stuck.
The folklore of the bay leaf is that there was a beautiful Nymph named Daphne. Apollo was hit by Cupids arrows and fell in love with Daphne, but she was an independent creature and did not want to be the apple of anyones eye, even the God Apollo, so she turned herself into the Bay Laurel Tree so she can live in sovereignty. To honor her, Apollo declared Bay Leaves the herb for poets, oracles and warriors. Apollo’s priestesses would chew bay laurel before giving prophetic readings to increase their psychic sight.
Bay leaves are said to help heal wounds and cuts and decrease inflammation in the body. They are also believed to help diabetics regulate blood sugar and some recent studies even claim it can be helpful in the recovery of breast cancer. It is also said Bay Leaves can help pass kidney stones. Bay leaves are incredibly cooling and stimulating so they help induce movement in the body and cooling hot conditions that could lead to unwanted inflammation or the accumulation of bile.
Kitchen herbs can be just as magical and potent as other herbs, they all have their story. Start to develop your herbal practice by reconnecting with the plants around you on the daily. Learn about their folklore, magical properties and medicinal uses. Just like an old friend, these herbs want to craft a relationship with us that lasts a lifetime.
Written by: Liridona Duraku, an herbalist, intuitive and ancestral guide living in Brooklyn, NY. You can book a virtual reading or healing session with Liri through Indigo. She also offers mentorships on creating a spiritual practice all your own. Visit our website to learn more about her services and book a session with her.